The restaurant trade seems to suffer more than most during times of crisis and so it's nice that an old favourite has weathered the storm.

L'Etranger is extremely popular with the expat community – for example, Jacques Brune, French hotel manager of The Hilton Sofia has long been a regular – and generally earmarked as one of Sofia's finest establishments.

The interior resembles a traditional Gallic restaurant. Olivier Roche, the head chef, is, of course, French, and the Bulgarian waitress who served us on our particular visit, Konstantina, told us she'd spent four years working in Strasbourg, so you can be assured of an authentic French experience if that is what you like. The menu is presented on a white board that is brought to the table.

My wife's starter was a Belgian endive (chicory) salad with blue cheese and walnuts. It was thinly chopped and had a fresh, slightly bitter taste, but she liked it overall.

My starter was an avocado salad with lettuce, tomatoes and orange segments. The combination of citrus and avocado was an unusual one for me – I'm used to having avocado as a savoury starter with vinaigrette sauce or just lemon juice – but it worked well enough and was tangy and tasty.

My wife's main course was red mullet. It was served on a very large plate – the fish at the centre soaked in  saffron and grapefruit sauce surrounded by rice. The fillets came in a beautiful arrangement with three different garnishes – finely sliced carrots and diced potatoes and a vegetable mix of peppers, aubergines and courgettes – placed in little avocado-shaped receptacles.  All the garnishes were very tastily prepared and seasoned. My wife reported that the fish was tasty, tender and juicy but it was the exquisitely colourful appearance of the whole "presentation" that really impressed her. 

My main course was rabbit in mustard and white wine sauce with potatoes. I liked it very much, although sometimes it was a bit of  a tussle to get the meat off the bone.  

Dessert was creme brulee with lavender for myself – absolutely delicious, slightly crackly. My wife had a collection of varying desserts profiteroles in chocolate sauce and coconut, a traditional cookie, a fruit salad and a concoction of what seemed yoghurt and mousse decorated with a little caramel ribbon.

Together with a bottle of Bulgarian rose wine (Dragomir - The Project) and two small bottles of mineral water, the bill came to 120 leva. I guess this marks it out as a special occasion venue, but it's well worth it if you can afford to splash out. 

Strictly no smoking, which is also nice for the children and a refreshing change from the capital's other smoked out venues. 

Overall rating: 5/6
Service: 5/6
Atmosphere: 5/6
Food: 5/6
Price: $$$$ ($ up to 12 leva a person for three courses; $$ 12 to 20 leva pp; $$$ 20 to 35 pp; $$$$ 35 and over pp)

Tsar Simeon 78, 1505 Sofia, Bulgaria
Tel: 0887523376 / 02 983 14 17
Open: Mon to Fri: 12pm to 3pm, 6pm to 10pm, Sat: 6pm to 10pm
Credit cards: yes